Old girl gutted before revamp

DEMOLITION crews have moved out after entirely gutting the Sejumi Institute building beside the former Courthouse Hotel on Abbott St.

The boarded-up site, which once housed Taste of China restaurant, has for weeks been full of work crews knocking down walls and tearing out internal fittings.

They have now made way for construction crews tasked with transforming the shell into a three-storey “hub-style” office space complete with ground-level restaurant, bar and retail ventures.

The company behind the redevelopment, Patima Partnership, has submitted new plans to Cairns Regional Council only slightly altering the original design by knocking 19sq m off the floor space.

Blueprints show the new building will include a two-storey indoor atrium filled with trees and plants, with the old barriers between it and the Courthouse Hotel grounds completely removed to increase the “interactive relationship” between the two.

Business and educational CUTTING EDGE: An artist’s impression of the site. tenancies will be housed on the top two levels.

“Most co-working spaces host regular events and education programs,” the application states.

“Evening drinks or midweek lunch sessions can add a welcome social element to the working week and some spaces even have business clubs dedicated to special interests.”

The property has had an interesting history, having been bought by the Australian Mutual Provident Society for an exorbitant £900 in 1907.

A large, arch-lined building erected at the cost of £4400 lasted until 1974, when it was demolished – ostensibly due to structural damage caused by the famous Abbott St fig tree – despite protests from local residents and its classification by the National Trust.